Dreketi Villagers Return to Rebuild Homes

A major clean up campaign continues at Dreketi Village on Qamea Island after a massive landslide left the village in ruins last month.

Villagers say that they have been working collectively day in day out to restore their village to its initial state.

Among villagers involved is Luisa Finau.

She said most of them have returned to the village to help in the clean up.

“We had fled at first because we were terrified. But now, most of us are returning to help in the cleaning of our village,” Ms Finau said

“We’ve been spending most of our days digging, cleaning and repairing our homes so that it is habitable once again.”

A Government team was dispatched to the area to help in the clean up and quicken the recovery process.

A part of this delegation is a team from the Water Authority of Fiji, working to secure their drinking water.

“They have started connecting the pipes and it’s getting closer to the village as we speak. There is a lot of work being done, and we are really thankful to the team for being here to help us through,” Ms Finau said.

“The health centre which was completely destroyed has been buried and the classrooms are being dismantled.”

Out of the 92 villagers that fled to the nearby Natakala settlement, all have returned except for one family.

“Most of us that fled to Natakala have all returned. The only family from Dreketi who is left there, was the one that lost their home to a fire during the landslide,” Ms Finau said.